The New Evil
by advent
Summary: It follows the adventures of Zi, an ex-soldier in the Hyrulian Army. Please r/r.
1. The Cottage

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda or Hyrule, Nintendo characters etc.  
Note: This is my first attempt at a fic. Hope you like it!   
The title's not that interesting. I couldn't think of anything. Zi is my   
own character. And some of the places are invented.   
  
  
Prologue  
It is coming...  
  
The inevitable...  
  
There is no simple way to stop it...  
  
The coming evil...   
  
Alone, the four are useless...  
  
Together, they shall defeat the evil...  
  
And peace shall reign again in Hyrule...  
  
Chapter I:The Cottage  
A yell awoke him from his peaceful slumber under the pine tree. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was big green eyes peering right into his face.  
"Ahhhhh!!!" He had nearly drawn his sword when he realized it was only a child.   
"I scared ya, didn't I mister?" giggled the small girl.  
"Uh...yeah, I guess so," the young man answered nervously. He was still a little shaken up.   
"My daddy wants to know, if ya want to have dinner with us. 'Cuz I saw you when I was playing, and you looked lonely."   
"Where do you live?"   
"Over there," the girl pointed to a small village nestled amongst the trees.  
"I didn't know I was so close...or else I would have gone inside and slept somewhere more comfortable," the man said, more to himself than the girl.   
"The trees can be hard," the girl agreed.   
Stretching his arms, he got up, gathered his things, and started walking toward the village. The girl skipped alongside him.   
"What's your name?"   
He glanced at her, and figured there was no reason to worry with the child. 'But the parents...? Better to be safe then regret it later...'  
"I'm...Zi...of Hyrule," he said after a pause.  
"Oh..." A big smile spread across the little girl's face. "I'm Nevis of Hyrule Town."  
'A town?? It doesn't even look big enough to be a town! '   
"Oh."  
Pulling his hand, the girl led him to a cottage on the eastern side of the town. A man and woman were standing outside.   
"This is my mommy and daddy. This is Zi," the girl introduced them.  
"Hello Zi. I see my daughter has dragged in another stranger. Although the last one she brought in wasn't as tall as you," the mother smiled kindly at him, obviously implying the small puppy she held in her arms. She led the way into the cottage. Zi placed his equipment in a corner, and sat in a chair opposite of his things, where he could keep an eye on them.   
"Nevis, go get your brother," her father ordered. She ran out of the room obediently.   
'Where could I go after this? What do I do? I can't work with much of anything...And I can't go back...no, I would never go back! ' His thoughts wandered frantically.   
"Zi?"  
The young man didn't answer.   
"Zi?" Nevis's mother said again, louder this time.  
He looked up, surprised.   
"Where are you from?"  
He blinked, not seeming to understand the question. His mind was thinking frantically, for a name, any name.   
"Juniper..." 'Juniper?? ' "...Town," he heard his voice reply.  
"Juniper Town? I've never heard of the place," Nevis's father put in.  
"It's a pretty small town. Barely big enough to be one." 'Hope that takes care of things.'  
At that moment, Nevis returned, with a blond haired, surly-looking youth in tow. 'This is her brother? I see some big differences.' Nevis's brother was probably a few years younger than Zi himself. He was clothed in a dark red tunic and black boots, compared to his sister who wore a sky blue dress and a white apron.  
Her brother examined Zi suspiciously.   
"Who're you?"  
"Zi," answered the older boy coolly.   
Nevis quickly interrupted. "This is my brother, George."  
Zi held out his hand to shake. The other boy ignored it. He had the air of one who didn't care about anything or anyone.   
Spotting Zi's sword in the corner, he was about to take it.   
"Don't touch that!" snapped Zi.  
"Why?" sneered George. "It's in my house, and you're not holding it."  
In two long strides, Zi crossed the room to where his sword lay, and blocked George with his arm. 'I won't be so foolish next time...how could I just leave it there? My father's sword...our family crest is on it...they would know all...' There was obvious surprise on George's face, at his quick movement.   
"I don't care about your dumb sword! I could defeat you any day of the week, with my own sword!" George boasted.  
"Do you want to fight me?" Zi asked quietly. 'Why did I just say that? It wouldn't be any contest! '  
"Prepare to be conquered!" crowed Nevis's brother.  
Zi looked away, a small smile on his face. Looking at the rest of the family, Zi noticed their faces were grim. 'Do they think that George can actually win? '   
"The food is ready!" Nevis's mother said, almost too cheerily.  
It was a somber meal. The contest held an overlying atmosphere over the group. 'I wonder if this happens a lot? They don't seem very surprised.' Afterwards, George left to get himself ready. Zi stayed inside the main room of the cottage. He took his sword and shield and began to practice. He was a little rusty, but the fundamentals he had learned as a child were still there. It was only the special moves that he and his friends had invented that were somewhat unpracticed. They hadn't been allowed to use them in tournaments at the castle, and he hadn't used his sword much when traveling. 'The castle...It was wrong, what happened to us! I don't even get to go visit my friends! '   
As he was preparing, Nevis came up to him.  
"Zi? You have to be careful..."  
A hearty laugh erupted from his mouth. 'It feels good to laugh like that again...'   
"What, you don't believe in me?" His blue eyes looked amusedly down into her green ones.  
"No..." she said slowly. "Only, my brother can tend to get angry if...when he gets beaten. He might try to do something...dangerous to you."   
Startled, Zi stared at the girl. "Like what?"  
Nevis looked back unhappily. "He's won a few, and he is pretty good I suppose. But you're obviously trained, and...he might try to get you back...by cheating..."  
Zi's eyebrows rose. "In the fight?"  
She nodded. "Maybe...or it could be afterwards."  
"I wasn't planning to stay very long anyway. I'll just leave tomorrow."  
Nevis looked down at the floor sadly. "You have to come back and visit..."  
A slow smile slid across his face. "Okay. And I'll be careful, don't worry."  
She walked away, her small shoulders slumped.  
"You ready?" George had poked his head into the cottage, looking at him mockingly. Zi ignored it, and taking a deep breath-which George noticed, and sniggered at, taking it as a sign of weakness-walked straight out of the room, his sword and shield in hand.   



	2. The Fight

Chapter II ****

Disclaimer: Zelda and other associations are not my property.

Author's Note: Zi's fight against George, and some other events are in this part. 

Chapter II

Zi was surprised at the crowd outside the cottage. _'Oh great...It seems like the whole town--or village, whatever this place is!--came over to see us fight. And this was just a silly argument, not even a proper challenge. Oh well, I suppose it was my fault for suggesting the fight._'

Zi stood in his 'stance', one foot ahead of the other, his sword in a diagonal line, in front, while his shield hung back on the other arm. He readied his mind, remaining alert, and watching his opponent, trying to figure out his weaknesses. It wasn't that difficult to see where George needed help. _'But can't expect everyone to have the kind of training I did. I've gotten too used to the castle, with their conduct rules and special code._' 

After studying George for a few moments, Zi decided to ask who was going to start the fight. As he walked forward with his sword lowered, George lashed out at him! Zi jumped back, George's sword barely missing his stomach. A jeer came from his opponent, causing Zi's temper to rise. '_Nobody I've ever known starts a match without warning!_' Zi struck George on the shoulder with the flat end of his long blade. In retaliation, George ran toward him, his sword pointed in front of him. 

'_What is this, a street brawl?!_' thought Zi, darting out of the way just in time.

"C'mon! Are you chicken or something?" George mocked. 

"I don't want to injure you," Zi answered calmly.

Anger flashed across George's face. "Do you think you're better then me, just because you have a nice sword!" The clash of metal against metal rang throughout the village, sending the watching villagers backward three extra feet. The blow could have killed him, Zi realized, but thankfully, he had quick hands and a stable shield. '_This has to end now!_' With a flash, Zi threw himself into an attack, one of the only "special" moves he remembered inventing with his friends. '_Soaring Light…this was the first move we made…Eric, me, and Niwel_.' Using the side of the cottage as a brace, he leaped over George, who was right next to him, and landed two feet away from him. He did a neat back flip over his head, one foot away from him, and deftly swung his sword, cutting George's shoulder. 

"Arghh!!" George cried out, leaning on the ground, his hand clasped over his wounded shoulder. 

"Here, this will help heal the wound." Zi snipped off a few small leaves from an herb, and handed it to him. George glowered at him, and turned away, refusing them. Shrugging, Zi handed them to his watching sister. 

"Only you would fight someone and offer to help him afterwards!" A familiar voice laughed behind him.

Spinning around, Zi found himself face to face with his childhood and longtime friend, Eric, now of the Hyrulian Army. 

"Hullo, didn't know you were here," he greeted him coldly.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm okay. But what are you doing here?"

"This is my home," Eric replied with a grin. "Don't you remember?"

Zi remembered vaguely him mentioning his childhood home. 

"A little."

"At least that's normal for you! That, and the helping thing…although I was a little surprised that you did it for his benefit, seeing as George probably did something to you, knowing him."

Zi shrugged, and began walking quickly away from the crowd of villagers. Eric followed him.

"It was because of Nevis. She was worried one of us would get hurt."

Eric smiled. "Nevis is a nice kid."

"Yeah."

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know."

"Well that's—"

"Why do you keep acting like everything is normal!" demanded Zi. "It's not, and you know it's not!"

"I just want to help you. I'm your friend, remember? Or did you forget in the span of three months!" Eric countered.

Zi sighed. "Look, we're on completely different tracks now. It was fine when we were both aiming for the same goals, but now I just want to stay alive, and keep my family that way too." A cloud seemed to come over his face. "Except…I can't keep my father…" His voice made a strange noise and he said no more.

"What happened?"

Zi stared at him. "I would have thought that you would know by now. My father's dead. And your king had him killed, which is just as bad as killing him himself!"

"That's a heavy accusation R—" Eric started to say, but got no further when Zi clapped his hand over his mouth.

"Don't say anything! If you're really my friend, you'll keep your mouth shut about this! That you saw me here, and everything that I told you!" Zi hissed. "Don't say my name around the village either. I'm going under another name. Just don't mention me at all."

"So, what, you don't trust me that I'll keep your secret?" Eric looked at him in disbelief. 

Zi kept walking, leaving his friend staring after him. He didn't actually like leaving his childhood friend abruptly, but he felt there wasn't anything else he could do. "I haven't seen him for three months, and he expects everything to be perfect," muttered Zi to himself. He realized that it wasn't smart of him to leave without purchasing a horse. '_Isn't there a ranch around here though?_' he wondered. Sadly, Zi had never been very good at geography, especially of Hyrule, and he never paid attention in the geography classes the trainers had made him take. Being a training soldier in the Hyrulian army, he had been expected to know a broad range of fields. 

Zi didn't notice an inn, or a ranch, so he stopped by a tree. '_What is this obsession with trees and me?_ ' he wondered. '_This is going to get boring, just talking to myself all the time. I'm even joking to myself!_' Taking a drink from his canteen, Zi absentmindedly examined his sword. 

The hilt was fringed with gold, while the tip of the hilt had the family crest imprinted on it. The blade itself was sharp and finely made. It had been crafted by Goron blacksmiths in gratitude for a favor Zi's grandfather had done for them. 

He started to cut bushes here and there, finally, he sat down and reflected over the fight. As he sat there, thinking, a skeleton suddenly emerged from the ground. Zi sprang to his feet, about to thrust his sword forward. 

But something about the enemy made his blood run cold. He didn't know what it was. Maybe it was because of his fear of creepy re-dead things. All he could do was stand there, frozen in place as it walked closer and closer.

Suddenly, the moving skeleton was gone. Instead, a spear lay rammed into the ground where it once was. 

Zi looked around him confusedly, wondering who had saved him.

"Hi."

Zi looked everywhere, but couldn't find the owner of the voice. From up above, a figure jumped down to the ground in front of him. Zi took a step backwards. 

It was a brown haired girl dressed in a forest green tunic, although it had a longer, more skirt-like bottom, with a longbow in one hand, and a set of arrows strapped to her back. She ran to the spear and jerked it out of the ground. 

"Who are you?" Zi asked, hesitantly.

"My name is Karlia," she replied.

"I'm called Zi."

Karlia gestured to a tall, dark-haired youth who had come up from behind another tree. "That's my brother, Tiewal."

"What are you two doing in the middle of Hyrule at night?"

"We have our reasons," Tiewal answered mysteriously, just as Karlia was about to answer. He was dressed plainly, as his sister was, and carried a broad sword.

"That's a nice sword you have," he said, pointing to Zi's blade.

"Thanks. It was my father's."

Zi stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say. '_I hate when this happens! When I don't know what to do!_' he thought angrily to himself.

"Where are we going next?" he heard Karlia ask her brother.

"To Lake Hylia," he replied simply. "It's the fastest way. Besides, we can rest the horses."

"The fastest way? To what?"

"To where we are going," said Tiewal.

"Can I get a ride with you?"

"To the lake?"

"I guess."

"Don't you even know where you're going?"

"No."

The brother and sister looked at each other with surprised expressions. 

"But aren't you going stopping there for the contest?" Karlia asked Zi.

"What contest?" 

****End of chapter II****

Author's Note: Please review this, thanks! I'd like to know what you thought of it!


	3. Lake Hylia

Disclaimer: Zelda and other associations are not my property ****

Disclaimer: Hyrule and other associations with the Zelda games are not my property.

Author's Note: Sorry this took so long to upload. I had some other things to do. It describes Zi's adventures in the area of Lake Hylia.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter III: Lake Hylia

"What contest?" repeated Zi.

"The king's contest. Didn't they go to your town and tell you about it?" '_The king is giving a contest? Ha! That will turn out well._'

"If this is such a well-known contest, then how come I haven't heard anyone besides you two talking about it?" Zi sneered.

"You've…only seen us?" Tiewal said uneasily.

"That's right!" Zi snapped.

"Why are you so angry all of a sudden?" Karlia asked him.

Zi shrugged, and struggled to get his voice back to a normal level.

Giving him a strange look, Karlia explained the contest. "The king wants the greatest warriors in the land to come to the castle, to help save Hyrule. To prove their worth, everyone must travel to the ancient Gerudo ruins, and bring back one of the ten golden coins that the king has hidden there. Each coin bears the king's face. The first people who find the coins are to bring their coin to the castle, where they will join the party who is going to save Hyrule! But we live on the other side of Hyrule and have taken a long time in getting over here. We were afraid that everyone has beaten us."

"A noble contest."

"Yes."

Zi thought silently for few moments.

"Why doesn't he just go himself?"

"What?"

"Why doesn't the king just take the army and go himself?"

Karlia shrugged. "I think it's better this way. This way, the citizens can help save Hyrule."  
"They've never let commoners join the army, why do you think that they'll let you save Hyrule?"

Karlia glared at him. "At least I'm trying, which is a lot better than you! All you're doing is standing around! You can't even save yourself from a simple enemy, much less an entire kingdom!" she said hotly.

Stunned at this, Zi growled, "What if I have a good reason!" 

Tiewal stepped in between them warily. "Would you like to join us?" Karlia shot him a look of surprise at the offer. 

Zi surprised himself by finding himself saying, "I suppose." '_It'll be an adventure, and I don't have anywhere else to go…_' he thought to justify himself. 

The look on Karlia's face obviously spelled hatred, but Zi shrugged it off, nonchalantly. 

At that moment, Zi heard the cuckoo crow, denoting the dawn of a new day. 

"We can reach Lake Hylia faster if we take the horses," Tiewal said.

"Horses?" Zi inquired. 

__

"Do you have a horse?"

"…No." Zi admitted hesitantly.

"Just use my horse, and I can ride on my sister's." Tiewal said sensibly. His sister's mouth was open, as she was about to protest. But there wasn't much she could say, because her brother had offered his own horse and not hers. 

She silently led out two war-horses from behind some bushes. 

"These two are Thorn and Bullet." Thorn was the larger of the two, but Bullet was sleeker. She handed him Bullet's bridle. 

"Here."

Tiewal started to protest, but Karlia shook her head. "Bullet would never last under both of us. It will be faster this way." Zi smiled his thanks. "It wasn't for you. It was for Bullet!" Karlia answered quickly. "Let's just go, okay?" She got onto Thorn expertly, and her brother went behind her. 

Zi grabbed Bullet's bridle and hoisted himself up with ease. He was used to horses much higher than Bullet, though they probably weren't as fast. '_Why are those castle horses so much slower than regular ones! Like parade horses or something!_'

Karlia rode off toward the rising sun, supposedly toward the direction where Lake Hylia was. Zi followed, catching up to her rapidly.

"He is really fast," Zi said after a few minutes of silence.

"I know."

They rode at a fast rate, pushing the horses, until the still waters of Lake Hylia were in sight.

When they reached the lake, however, their spirits plunged. The banks were teaming with prospective heroes. Many of them were sitting on the side, fishing! '_At this rate, there won't be **any** fish left in Lake Hylia by nightfall!_'

Zi veered off the path, and rode over to a group of people fishing nearby.

"Hey, what are you doing! You're scaring all the fish away with your horse!" The voice came from a youth of about eighteen, the same age as Zi. 

"There won't be _any_ fish left by the time everyone's done fishing here," Zi replied calmly.

"So? Fish are meant to be eaten!"

"Not in enormous numbers like this."

"Why don't you go bother somebody else! You think you're better than us, just because you have a nice horse?!"

'_What **is **it with everyone thinking because my weapons and the animal I'm riding on, are good, I'm conceited! Now I'm really glad I'm not in the army! It must be worse, because they have good food, clothing, and a stable roof under their heads, and more! At least my appearance looks weathered. They can't accuse me of that, at least!_'

Almost in reflex, Zi rolled his eyes in disgust.

"Do you know how many times I've heard that in the last forty-eight hours!" 

The youth was laughing.

"What are you laughing at?!" Zi shook his fist menacingly. 

"You!" His answer only made Zi more furious.

"Why?" he said through gritted teeth.

"Because. You looked hilarious when you made that face!" the other youth grinned. 

Zi got off the horse, and handed it back to Karlia and her brother, who were both watching with anticipation.

"Real funny. Who are you?" Zi said.

"The name's Duke. I travel around Hyrule looking for people to do tricks for."

"Why are you here then?"

"Money. What else? I have no aspirations to be a hero." He grinned, showing a mouthful of teeth. It reminded Zi of a wolfos. "People get bored. So, me and my friends do puppet shows, card tricks, and acrobatics. It's a living."

"Are you going to…" he started to say.

"Zi, we found a spot to rest the horses," Tiewal interrupted him.

"Are you here to be a hero?" sneered Duke.

"No!" Zi shouted fiercely, nearly drawing his sword. "Anyone who says differently will have to deal with me!"

Duke shrugged. "What are you doing here then? You're not a trickster, you dress like a warrior, and you're not here to be a hero?" He scoffed at the idea.

Zi ignored him and followed Tiewal to the spot. "When are we leaving?"

"Aren't we going to do something about…all this?" He waved his hand towards the people. 

"What can we do?"

"He's right Tiewal," Karlia said, walking up to them, though looking as if she disliked the idea of Zi being right. "Besides, we want a head start, right?"

Tiewal seemed to think about it. At last, he looked up, and nodded. 

"The horses are ready," Karlia informed them.

Grabbing Bullet's reins, Zi pulled himself up, while Karlia and Tiewal got onto Thorn. They rode towards the exit to Lake Hylia, making their way to the Gerudo ruins. As they neared the ruins, the ground became sparse with grass and sandier. They were now inside the canyon. The neigh of a horse caused Zi to look up. 

In front of them was a band of nasty-looking bandits. 

"This is our territory now!" snarled a bearded man, who sat atop a horse.

"Who says so!" Karlia yelled back. The man laughed at the thought of a girl threatening them, causing the others to laugh with him.

Anger surged within Zi, who leaped off of his horse, with Karlia and her brother doing the same.

"Oh, what's this now? You kids want to fight us?" They roared with laughter. Drawing his sword, Zi readied himself in the ways he was taught. But this time, he looked alertly for any sudden movement; he wouldn't be caught off guard again. '_There!_' A man's arm raised swiftly, cocking, and releasing the arrow. Zi yelled, "Look out!" but it was too late. The arrow had hit its mark.

"Tiewal!" The cry burst from his sister's lips. '_What is she doing? She's just making more work for me!_ _This is no time for sentimentality!_' Another arrow was being released, but Zi moved quickly, shoving Tiewal down, and deflecting the arrow with his ready shield. Then, Karlia seemed to realize the seriousness of the situation, and shot an arrow towards the bearded archer on the horse. It missed him by a hair's length. 

Zi saw two of the bandits racing towards him, each bearing a heavy sword. He calmly waited for them to near, and when they were within two feet of him, swung his sword, piercing the leg of his first opponent. The bandit grimaced with the pain, and lay sprawled on the ground. He jumped over him, and faced the second bandit. This one was large and swung before Zi could bring up his shield. '_Whoa!_' It had almost chopped off his nose. Grimly, Zi swung in order to injure his oppponent, but ended up slamming the smooth blade of his sword down onto the bandit's head, knocking him out.

"Help!" He whirled around and spotted Karlia greatly outnumbered by the last of the robbers. As he came closer, he noticed that she was shielding her brother. _'No wonder! She's putting herself in place of her brother!_' Adroitly, he battled them until they were either on the ground, or had fled. He paused to catch his breath with his back turned away from the road toward the ruins. 

"Watch out!" A sharp cry came from Karlia. Zi whirled around, and saw the sharp knife about to descend upon him. One second it was there, and then it wasn't

"All right! He went down like a rock!" Zi heard the thunderous shout of a familiar voice. He turned to look at its owner. It was Duke, the acrobat from the lake. 

'_I'm so out of shape. If I were still in training I could have made it out without his help!_' 

"Aren't you going to say anything? Hello??" Duke's voice brought Zi back to the present. 

Zi ignored him, and turned toward Karlia. "How's your brother?" he asked walking toward her, who was perched next to her brother on the ground.

"He's…" her answer was barely a whisper, but her tone was enough.

"…Karlia," Tiewal's voice was hoarse. He reached out a hand toward his sister.

"I'm here," she said immediately.

"Take my sword. Use it. For the good of Hyru…" His voice droned off, and his body became motionless. A tear crawled down Karlia's face. 

Taking his sword, she stood up, a look of fierce determination in her eyes. 

"Let's go. The coin is _mine_. I'm not going to let him down!" Her fist clenched tightly around the sword like she would never let it go… 

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Note: Thanks for reading it! Please review. I would like to know what you think. 


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